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Friday, August 2, 2013

MMPR Nostalgia: Is it holding the franchise and the fandom back? (MMPR Fanboy rant)

This is something I've wanted to post about for a while now, I just couldn't put it into words. I don't mean for this to sound harsh in anyway. Its just something that I feel needs to be said.

One of my main gripes with any franchise (not just MMPR) is its reliance on nostalgia to carry it through certain seasons. There is such a thing as too much nostalgia. I know Power Rangers MegaForce (the first half) is supposed to be an anniversary season and that its only had 9 episodes air at the time of this post, but I can't help but feel that its riding the MMPR nostalgia wave too much. It feels like a complete rehash of MMPR with hit or miss writing. As I said in my RoboKnight post a few months ago, writing like that is unacceptable when you have 19 seasons to guide you. Anyway, that's not exactly the point of this post. Time to show you all my thoughts on the section of the fanbase that treats MMPR like its the only season that matters.

I've had talks and debates with MMPR fanboys quite a few times and their arguments usually boil down to the same old tired things: "Its the best because its the original", "Because it started the whole thing", and variations of those reasons when the real answer is most likely "Because I grew up with it". I grew up with MMPR as well but even I can see that its not the best. Some fanboys even want the franchise to return to the MMPR formula completely and just carry over the cast and characters from season-to-season while only changing the suits, essentially pressing the reset button on the entire franchise. Don't get me wrong, nostalgia can be a good thing in small doses but sometimes I have to wonder if the franchise is beginning to rely too much on its past success. Lately it feels like Saban Brands is trying too much to recapture the glory days of MMPR. I get very irritated when I read cast interviews and all six rangers list MMPR as their favorite season (happened in a Power Rangers Samurai interview a couple years ago) when I highly doubt every one of them just stopped watching after MMPR. Especially when I read that one of them had seen up to Power Rangers Mystic Force a few weeks later. I'm not trying to say that their opinion is wrong but for all six to give the same answer just strikes me as odd. Sometimes it makes me wonder if Saban Brands is spoon-feeding them their answers and telling them to promote MMPR over any other season.

MMPR isn't bad but its certainly not the best. There have been far better seasons with better writing, more complex characters, better acting, and better story arcs. Sometimes I wonder if the die-hard MMPR fanboys have taken the time to look into each season or even watched something not MMPR related. Half of the arguments I've had with them sound like they're typing with nostalgia goggles on. Saban's insistence on constantly promoting MMPR as the best season isn't helping matters much either. I understand that promoting MMPR may indeed be a way for him to try and draw older fans back into the franchise as well as show little kids where it all started, but he runs the risk of alienating some of the older fans who like me get sick and tired of everything about Power Rangers being forcefully led back to MMPR. MMPR has had its time in the sun and nothing will ever make me forget the years I spent watching and I will always be grateful to MMPR for being my introduction to tokusatsu, but its time for the fans, Saban Brands, and the franchise to move past it. This also leads me back to a post I did a few months ago about fans complaining that some of the 90's era rangers wouldn't be coming back for Super MegaForce. If a lot of the actors have moved past their time on the show then its time that the fans do as well.

Over-reliance on nostalgia is a very bad thing for a long running franchise. When you basically only feed people nostalgia you risk alienating that part of your fanbase that wants to see something new, the ones who want to see the franchise move forward. It only serves to add fuel to the fire so people only see your past success and compare everything to your first work. It makes people think you're stuck in the past and that you have no intention of moving forward anytime soon. I'm not saying that you shouldn't like MMPR but you should look at the franchise as a whole without the nostalgia goggles clouding your vision/judgement. Otherwise your arguments come off as being heavily biased towards the past and they lose all merit. If your favorite season is MMPR, that's fine but at the very least acknowledge its flaws. While I may get some hate for this post from that section of the fanbase, it needed to be said. So I will end this post with a message to the MMPR fanboys: This over-reliance on nostalgia has to stop, otherwise the franchise and the fanbase risk getting stagnant. If you do not move forward you cannot evolve. I am actually fine with bringing the some of the MMPR feeling back into the franchise as long as they keep the advancement that the franchise has made. You must do it in a way that doesn't alienate the fans who want to see the franchise continue to grow.

22 comments:

Very good articule. I agree with you I love mmpr yes it my fav season but I am a true fan I watch pr as a whole and enjoy all it has to offer some of the seasons were good like jungle fury, s.p.d, dino thunder, ninja storm, and many others and some were bad but I still watch it cause I'm a fan.

didn't see your RoboKnight post, but I would probably agree that he's very band and very much a re-hash of GoseiKnight.

I also agree that having everything be MMPR is going to dry up the well of inspiration. It's just like Transformers: Having G1 all the time is not always a good thing. When you really look at it without the rose-coloured glasses, you see the problems and you'll get to realizing that it's just a product of its time and all the innovations throughout the years while paying some homage to the original is what kept it alive all these years (besides the contractual obligations of Saban/Disney that force it to keep going)

"but I can't help but feel that its riding the MMPR nostalgia wave too much. It feels like a complete rehash of MMPR with hit or miss writing." I'm sorry, but I need to call you out on this! The reason that they (Saban Brands) is doing this is because they can't adapt Goseiger mostly because of it's religious material that it has.

They can't try to adapt that because Saban knows full well that the religious groups will be breathing down his neck as well as the fact that you can't air anything pertaining to any religion of any kind in a kids show!

And Robo Knight being a rehash of Gosei Knight? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!? *facepalms* Again, I'm sorry but I strongly disagree with you here as well . "Lately it feels like Saban Brands is trying too much to recapture the glory days of MMPR." You have got to be joking! *Head-desks* They aren't trying to do that with the first half of Megaforce! Yes, they are paying homage to MMPR, but they ARE NOT trying to do what you are thinking they are trying to do.

Like I said before, Saban is doing this because of the fact that they CANNOT ADAPT GOSEIGER because of it's religious material that it has! And they aren't going to give Gokaiger a full adaptation either mainly because of the footage of the first 15 Sentai teams that weren't used for Power Rangers, hence the reason why Saban is going to do something along the lines of Power Rangers Zeo which makes sense.

lol I do hope you are kidding and not being serious because if you are I kind of feel sorry for you. Saban can adapt it anyway they like maybe if they had a thing known as CREATIVITY they wouldn't need to rehash MMPR as they are doing with Megaforce. As for Gosei Knight vs Robo Knight maybe you banged your head too hard to make a point or reason why Robo Knight isn't a rehash? But you're right Gosei Knight was more a character so I give you points there :p lol. Megaforce is a rehash of MMPR using Goseiger stories and doing nothing really different from Samurai except maybe having even worse characters and actors.So instead of hitting yourself maybe you should actually make points that don't make you sound like a guy talking out of your butt because what you are doing is making your opinion something people won't consider because of how childishly you presented it. So if you want to make your point again please redo your comment and put some maturity into it thanks ;)

1. They could've adapted it as something other than a rehash if they had more creativity. This "homage" is just an excuse to try and make it MMPR 2.0. For instance here is a way they could've done it. The MegaForce powers could have been the left over technology from an ancient civilization with the 5 rangers being the descendants of said civilization. They would have been the source of the morphing grid (since zordon even said that he didn't create it). Makes a lot more sense than rehashing MMPR. Its called creativity. They could've adapted it without the religious implications of Goseiger. There is no excuse for taking the lazy way out.

2. I can't attest to RoboKnight being a rehash of GoseiKnight since I haven't seen Goseiger (I even brought that up in my review of his premiere). My issue with RoboKnight is that he has NO personality whatsoever, likely because they are trying to make him forgettable on purpose due to him most likely not being in Super MegaForce (that is also inexcusable since he deserves better than to just be a placeholder for the silver ranger in Super MegaForce.

3. An homage is fine but this is no homage. Furthermore why should MMPR get half the season as its tribute? Oh right, because it wants to celebrate MMPR more than any other season. If Gokaiger wasn't made the way it was (by celebrating each season throughout the entire series), I whole-heartedly believe that Saban Brands would've indeed made this a full-on remake of MMPR. Their promotion of it as such is more than enough of a clue as to what they intended to do.

4. I can tolerate differing opinions, in fact I welcome them, however you using terms/actions like "facepalm" and "headdesk" in response to someone's argument implies that you think I and/or other comments are idiots. That is something I cannot accept. Not to mention that it makes your argument look baseless. Never do that in response to an argument.

@Micheal They are using creativity! "Megaforce is a rehash of MMPR using Goseiger stories and doing nothing really different from Samurai except maybe having even worse characters and actors." Megaforce is not a "rehash of MMPR" they are paying tribute to it because of the 20th anniversary. And Power Rangers is not a show that requires triple A+ talent.

And they are trying to do something different than what you are saying because again, they can't adapt Goseiger completely because of the religious bigots and not to mention other various religious groups that would be breathing down Saban's neck! You need to realize that! And I just recently turned 30, thank you very much.

@Taylor Speight "They could've adapted it as something other than a rehash if they had more creativity. This "homage" is just an excuse to try and make it MMPR 2.0." Again, They aren't "rehashing MMPR" or "trying to create MMPR 2.0" They are paying tribute to it! What part of that do you both not seem to understand here? They are celebrating MMPR because it was the season that started the Power Rangers franchise to begin with.

And Robo Knight does have a personality, it's just that you aren't giving Robo Knight a chance. That, and Nickelodeon is making us wait until September or October for new episodes to return.

I know damn well that they're tributing MMPR. You're implying I'm an idiot again. Never do that. My point is that they're too lazy to come up with something new. One or two episodes of tributing MMPR is fine, but it will most likely last the entire first half. Why should MMPR get half the season? It starting the franchise is not enough to warrant that when there are much better seasons. If you seriously think that qualifies it to be half the season, then you missed entire point of this article. It doesn't even feel like they're celebrating the 20th anniversary of the franchise, it feels like its celebrating 20 years of MMPR alone. Also, censoring the religious aspects is quite simple, just change the dialogue and edit the stock footage.

Furthermore, you have presented no valid defense other than "But the source material has too much religious subtext" which isn't really a valid point as it can be fixed with the proper editing and script changes. Therefore your argument has no base.

I'm not implying that your an idiot! And They have been coming up with something new when trying to adapt Goseiger which is something that I guess that you have been ignoring. It doesn't even feel like they are celebrating the 20th anniversary of the franchise maybe because they are saving that for Super Megaforce.

They are trying to tell they're own story here instead of adapting Goseiger completely, and all you and other people have been doing have been complaining about "Saban isn't doing anything new, they are being lazy"! Or "They're trying to rehash MMPR" or "They're trying to create MMPR 2.0"!

Also, stop twisting my words around and telling me what I can and can't do because it's not helping you or you're point!

Calm Down. Samuel isn't complaining, and you are the one twisting his words and making it sound like he and the others are idiots. I don't even understand why hardcore fans like you go so overboard about something so small. Samuel is just stating the truth. There are always two sides of a coin. One could just be more obivous. Now calm down before this gets out of hand.

At least I've put up a valid argument and have thought about other possible ways they could've done it. Why should I just accept whats fed to me in a franchise I love? Why shouldn't I think of ways that would work better. Also, I never said they should completely follow Goseiger, look at what happened with Samurai. Also, its not much of a story when you have bland characters and bland writing. Devoting half the season to the most over-hyped season in the franchise is indeed a rehash when it follows the MMPR formula almost exactly.

" Also, its not much of a story when you have bland characters and bland writing. Devoting half the season to the most over-hyped season in the franchise is indeed a rehash when it follows the MMPR formula almost exactly." Bland characters and bland writing? Are you seriously joking me or are you just clearly not giving Megaforce a chance at all? And devoting the first half of the season to MMPR while trying to tell it's own story which people like myself do like even though it has it's flaws, IS NOT A "rehash of MMPR"!

"Samuel is just stating the truth." That Megaforce is a rehash of MMPR and that Saban can't do anything creative or new as well as Power Rangers requires better acting and writing while completely being oblivious to the fact that Saban is trying they're best? And he is the one that was twisting my words by implying that I'm calling him an idiot which I'm not!

"Fans" like yourselves who have this set notion that "Saban can't do anything new" or "Saban is being lazy" and also being completely oblivious to the fact that they are trying are what piss me off about this fandom the most as well as the fact that they think they know what's best for Power Rangers.

And since when did Saban start promoting MMPR as the best season? Is that something else you pulled out of you're ass just to help you feel better? And you even said it yourself that you haven't watched Goseiger which pretty much makes this entire blog post completely invalid! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5QGkOGZubQ

I gave MegaForce a chance and I'm not impressed. I'm still gonna watch it. I don't usually do the Sentai vs PR stuff. Furthermore, my post wasn't about MegaForce itself. Look at the first paragraph, the line that says "Anyways that's not the point of this post". Also, why should Goseiger come into play when I'm talking about PR? This isn't even about Goseiger either. If you can't see that then well I don't really know what to say. Also, you need to work on your debating skills. If it came off as if I know whats best for the franchise, then I apologize, that wasn't my intent. This post was about the over-use of nostalgia. Nothing more.

Quick question zyurangerfan1982... How does the poster not watching Goseiger factor into his argument at all?! His post is on the use of Nostalgia in Power Rangers. As for your accusation i have no doubt that Saban has in fact promoted MMPR over everything else concidering when megaforce was announced everything i have seen related to its promotion being pulled back to MMPR. Hell almost all interviews with the cast are lead back to MMPR. I also find it hard to believe that out of 11 different actors (samurai and megaforce)all of them list MMPR as the best unless someone is telling them to say so. Second Megaforce is so MMPR its not funny. Hell most of the episodes feel very much like MMPR with episode 1 being the most blatant of all concidering it reads almost exactly like the first episode. you have done nothing to state your side of the argument in a constructive way. As far as I am concerned you have done nothing to state your side of the case as such it seems to me that your point is the invalid one.

Megaforce IS NOT MMPR! They are telling they're own story while paying tribute to it! And why are you going to continue to watch Megaforce? Just so you can bash it on here more? "Hell most of the episodes feel very much like MMPR with episode 1 being the most blatant of all considering it reads almost exactly like the first episode." How do most of the episodes feel very much like MMPR? And yes, episode 1 was like that because it was paying homage and tribute to MMPR!

And I still find this whole "over-nostalgia" thing completely laughable. If Megaforce is getting older fans to come back and watch again then Saban is obviously doing something right!

Having now seen all of Megaforce, yeah it basically is somewhat of a rehash of MMPR. 1. Takes place in a high school setting, 2 Mentor, robot assitant, and a base. 3. Character wise, Troy is like Jason, martial artist, Noah like Billy being the nerd, Emma like Kimberly into nature (and also with tht hair in the helmet line in this season given her character bio doesnt make sense for her to say), Jake like Zach being the smooth goofball trying to get the girl and Gia being like Trini in being quiet yet resourceful. Looking at all the promotions they've done, especially on their facebook page, its almost all MMPR all the time and the majority of the fanbase like the post states only like MMPR based on their nostalgia alone and based on tht, people who arent fans of the show only know Power Rangers because of MMPR and thats it.

There is a lot of reasons why I think MMPR is the best season and its not just down to nostalgia. There is a lot of stuff what is shown in MMPR what we don't see enough of in future seasons:

1) There is a lot of character development in MMPR with most of the rangers and we see just how they can be when seperated from the others. The chemistry is also very tight with them all.

2) Most of the villains are highly developed and characterised. Also,even many MOTWs have more character and personality than a lot of future season MOTWs.

3) The MOTWs look much better and original and are shown to have more mythology and history in some of them. Recurring MOTWs in particular seem to have more personality rather than just being emotionless. (e.g, Socadillo crying at The Wedding,)

4)The Wedding itself is a perfect trilogy of episodes showing that the villains are not all heartless and can have a good time instead of being pure evil what seems to be the case with most villains now who end up getting destroyed after a while.

5) A lot of exposition and plot-driven stuff with the rangers going on quests to various places, even to different planets.

6) Zord carnage multiple times and graphic details of them losing at times showing that it can be quite dark. Dark and deep plots have happened many times on MMPR actually.

7) More comedy with characters like Bulk and Skull, Rito, Zedd/Rita

8) The soundtrack is awesome (The main theme, Go Green Ranger Go, Fight) etc. No other season has lyrical music like these as far as I know,)